Muggleborn's Bane
by Jessica Capasso
Summary: A story about Hermione and why wizards don't like muggleborns


Muggleborn's Bane

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

A/N: This is just a little plot bunny that has been percolating in my head for a while and I finally decided to write it down.

Hermione Granger walked slowly down the dusty hallway behind a secret passage following her arch-rival Draco Malfoy. She just knew he was up to no good and she was determined to get proof this time. The passage was covered in dust and grime and it looked like no one had been this way in centuries. Even the suits of armor were rusty and falling apart. Luckily Malfoy wasn't looking behind him or he would be able to see her footprints despite her disillusionment charm. He stopped in front of a bare stretch of wall and seemed to be looking for something as Hermione watched from a few meters away using the shadow to hide the ripples from the charm. As she shifted position she barely bumped the suit of armor next to her and behind Malfoy and as the heavy axe began to fall she realized that it was going to cut Malfoy in half if he didn't move, but he hadn't noticed it. She jumped out of her hiding spot and tackled him to the side just as the axe cut through the space he had been standing in. The fast movement and body contact breaking her invisibility. She jumped off Malfoy and began backing up suddenly realizing that she was alone in a secret passageway with a suspected death eater. Malfoy, however, didn't move for a few minutes. He just looked in horror at the axe that had hit the stone floor so hard that it was embedded. Then he looked back at Hermione, who was still too terrified to move herself, and then back to the axe. After what seemed like an hour but was really closer to a minute, he seemed to collect himself and stood slowly. Dragging his gaze away from the axe he looked to Hermione and she could see loathing on his face before it was replaced with resignation. He gave a half bow and said formally, "The House of Malfoy owes a life debt to Hermione Granger."

Hermione was stunned. That was the last thing that she expected to hear from him. She didn't say anything for a moment. The last thing she wanted was for this prick to owe her anything so she told him so. "I don't want your debt. You don't owe me anything." The loathing was clear in her voice.

He gasped in disbelief. "You're refusing a life debt?" He asked incredulously. At her nod his face changed to revulsion. "So be it, mudblood" He spat at her, spun on his heels, and left. Hermione just shook her head at the exchange and made her way back to Gryffindor tower. Whatever he was here for she obviously wasn't going to find out tonight.

Upon entering the tower she made her way over to where Harry and Ron were playing chess. "You wouldn't believe what just happened…" She proceeded to tell her two friends everything that happened in the passageway. When she finished with how she refused the life debt, Ron gasped and exclaimed loudly "You refused a life debt! Hermione how could you!"

At that the entire room got quiet and turned to look at the trio. Hermione was taken aback at the evil looks all of her fellow Gryffindors were giving her. She ignored it though and stuck her nose in the air and said, "Of course I did. I don't want that jerk to owe me anything."

"But don't you know what that means?" Harry asked. At her questioning look Ron explained, "It means that you just told Malfoy that his life wasn't worth saving and that it had been better if he died. You now have a blood feud with a noble and ancient house!"

"A blood feud! That's barbaric. It's just pureblood rubbish." Hermione said imperiously.

At this the looks of the other Gryffindors turned to pure hatred and even Ron and Harry were looking at her like they didn't know who she was anymore. Neville was finally the one to break the silence. "That's it. I've had enough. You want to know why wizards don't like muggleborns? It's because of people like you." Neville said as he slammed his hand on the table in front of him to agreeing murmurs from the others.

"What are you saying Neville?" Hermione asked stunned that her quiet housemate was taking such a stance.

"You come here to our world with your muggle ideas, spit on our culture and our history, call us barbaric, and think you cannot possibly be wrong and you don't even know the first thing about it. It was bad enough trying to kill all the house elves…"

"I was trying to save them. It's slavery the way they are bound to people!"

"That's exactly what I mean. You know nothing. Free house elves die Granger. Why do you think Dobby is here rather than out doing whatever he wants? It's because the magic in the air is the only thing keeping him alive and even with that he is weaker than the other elves. Elves bond to feed off our magic to survive. We give them life and they care for us. That is how it works. Most house elves are not abused in any way. Just because one crazy elf thought he was better off dead than working for the Malfoys doesn't mean all of them think that way."

"Then why didn't anyone tell me that?"

"We tried to tell you. You just steamrolled right over us, made accusations and wouldn't even listen. Hell even the house elves tried to tell you and you were talking about brainwashing or something of the sort. You think that you are right and we wizards are barbaric. You want to change our ways and our world to make it better in your eyes. You need to either accept our culture or go back to the muggle world."

Everyone in the common room yelled their agreement to that sentiment. She looked to Harry and Ron for support and saw them nodding with the rest. She burst into tears and ran up to her dorm.

The next morning at breakfast Hermione was sitting alone at the end of the Gryffindor table in the great hall. She had a wide area of space all around her. Professor McGonagal looked down at the table and sighed. Hopefully whatever rift there was between Ms. Granger and the rest of the house would resolve itself in a few days or she would have to step in. This was her thinking right up until the Daily Prophet came. The headline "Muggleborn refuses life debt to noble house" was blaring from the front page of the newspaper. The headline beneath Blood feud in effect was even more damning. Suddenly a wave of sound broke over the hall as those students reading the paper told their friends what it said and suddenly the reason for the break between Ms. Granger and the other Gryffindors was evident and not only that the rest of the school was now glaring at her. The old professor sighed again and began to read the article. Hopefully it wasn't as bad as it looked.

The article mentioned her campaign for the house elves and this latest incident calling it proof that muggleborns don't understand our culture and should be segregated from the rest of the wizarding world. There were many quotes from Hermione Granger over the course of her school years, the word barbaric appearing in many of them.

Well it was worse than she thought. She was going to have to do something about this. There were only a few weeks left of her sixth year and then there was only one more year until she would graduate. "Ms. Granger please see me in my office when you are finished with your breakfast," She said pausing at the end of the table.

Professor McGonagal spent the time waiting for Hermione thinking on possible solutions to this problem. By the time Hermione entered the office she only had a few options to give her. Hermione took a seat looking at the floor.

"Ms. Granger. I must say I have rarely been so disappointed in one of my students. You realize you have given the death eaters the perfect justification for their hardline stance and paved the way for legislation discriminating against muggleborns to take hold. Not only that but you have ruined any chance you may have had at having a life in our world. After this no one will employ you and if you attempt to start a business no one will buy from you. Why on earth would you do something like this?"

"Because it's ridiculous. I shouldn't have to put up with someone I hate just because I saved his miserable life. I didn't know about the insult or the blood feud and that's just wrong anyway."

The professor just took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Didn't you ever look for a book on wizarding culture? I know there are many in the library."

"I didn't see the need."

She decided to try a different tact. "Would you go to China without knowing their culture? Would you tell them that it's wrong to take off their shoes when entering a house? That it's barbaric to sit on the floor to eat?"

"Of course not, but I'm not Chinese. This world belongs as much to us as it does to them."

She gave up and decided to offer her options and get this stuck up girl out of her office. "Well then Ms. Granger the way I see it we have a few options here. I think you would be able to take your newts at the end of this year and be considered officially graduated. It isn't something that is done normally but since you have already turned 17 it is allowed. Another option would be getting tutors for your final year and taking your newts at the ministry. If you insist on returning next year I don't believe that you will find yourself welcomed though of course we will not forbid you to do so if you insist. These options of course are assuming that you intend to take your newts. Seeing as you will not be getting employment in the wizarding world there is little point to doing so, but I know you well enough to know that you will likely insist. If you choose not to take your newts you can of course leave at any time. As you are of age you will be allowed to continue using magic whatever you choose as long as you remember the statute of secrecy."

Hermione was devastated but determined not to show it. "What would you suggest professor," she said with steel in her voice.

"I would suggest either leaving or taking your newts at the end of the year. There is little point to wasting another year here when you could be spending the time catching up on your muggle education so that you will be able to get a good job in that world."

"Very well. I will take my newts at the end of the year. You may be running me out, but I will leave with my head held high, knowing that I did my best." Hermione stood and stormed out of the office. Just as she was opening the door the professor called to her and she stopped without turning around. "Newts start a week from today. I will get you your schedule within the next two days." Hermione didn't respond and continued out the door.

For the remainder of her time at Hogwarts she did not speak to another student. When she was taunted in the halls she ignored it. When she was pranked by her housemates she fixed it and pretended it didn't happen. She left directly after her last newt exam, two days before Professor Dumbledore was killed by Severus Snape, and when, many years later, her children received their Hogwarts letters she refused to send them. She went to Diagon Alley in disguise and bought everything she would need to teach them at home.


End file.
